Search

Background: Research indicates a high prevalence of depressive disorders in individuals with autism spectrums disorders (ASD), highlighting a need for depression screening in this population. Both depression screening tools used in the general population and tools developed specifically for individuals with ASD are used in the ASD population. Because depressive symptoms may manifest differently in individuals with ASD, it is important to establish the psychometric properties of depression instruments in individuals with ASD to determine whether and how these instruments can be applied in assessing these individuals., Objective: Our objective was to synthesize knowledge regarding the psychometric properties of (a) depression instruments developed for the general populations and (b) depression instruments developed specifically for individuals with ASD., Methods: A scoping review was conducted using Covidence to identify, screen, and review available literature on the use and psychometric properties of generalized and ASD-specific depression instruments in individuals with ASD., Results: Results for both generalized and ASD-specific instruments indicated moderate psychometric strength, enough for these instruments to be potentially helpful in psychiatric assessments but not enough to be conclusive on their own. The data are limited by the small number of studies examining this population, that is, only 1 to 3 articles for each instrument, and the often-limited number of psychometric measurements taken in each study., Conclusions: As the prevalence of depression in individuals with ASD is high, reliable and valid measures are needed. Current research shows some support for existing instruments, although additional, more robust research is needed., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Background: With the Internet as the main source of information for health content, the quality of websites with medical information is of high importance., Objective: This study analysed 250 websites on acute ankle sprain (ASD), one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders, for their quality and readability. Based on the results, a guide for patients was created., Method: The quality of the websites was assessed using a 25-item content score and the EQIP36 score for medical information material. The reading level could be determined using the Flesch-Kincaid index and the calculated readability. The best three websites were evaluated in a user survey., Results: Of the 250 websites recorded 77 were included in the study. The quality of these varied significantly, with none achieving the maximum score. Sources in the healthcare system showed higher quality, while commercially influenced sites were below average in terms of completeness of content. Only 14% of the websites reached the recommended reading level. A significant negative correlation was found between completeness of content and readability. The user survey showed a mixed level of satisfaction and participants with previous medical knowledge were more critical than laypersons., Conclusion: Online resources about ASD are suboptimal and differ considerably. Deficiencies in content, readability and structure were identified, which limit the effective use by patients. Health information publishers should work harder to improve the comprehensibility and quality of the information provided., Competing Interests: Einhaltung ethischer Richtlinien. Interessenkonflikt: S.M. Tengler, M. Lenz, G.O. Hofmann, M. Rosenthal, K.E. Roth, L. Mohr, H. Waizy und K. Klos geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht. Für diesen Beitrag wurden von den Autor/-innen keine Studien an Menschen oder Tieren durchgeführt. Für die aufgeführten Studien gelten die jeweils dort angegebenen ethischen Richtlinien., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To explore cultural factors related to resilience among Black/African American Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) partner caregivers., Method: This study used a qualitative design. An adapted Resilience Framework informed the in-depth interviews with 10 Black/African American ADRD partner caregivers., Results: Four major themes emerged: Unfolding Process of ADRD Discovery , Resilience is Multifaceted in Caregiving , Resilience is an Adaptive Process , and Cultural Heritage Shapes Caregivers' Resilience Experiences . The major themes include a total of 18 subthemes., Conclusion: Findings provide an in-depth understanding of how race, ethnicity, and cultural positive adaptive factors influence resilience among diverse ADRD partner caregivers. [ Research in Gerontological Nursing, 18 (1), 21-28.]., Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.

DNA damage in cells induces the expression of inflammatory genes. However, the mechanism by which cells initiate an innate immune response in the presence of DNA lesions blocking transcription remains unknown. Here we find that genotoxic stresses lead to an acute activation of the transcription factor NF-κB through two distinct pathways, each triggered by different types of DNA lesions and coordinated by either ataxia-telangiectasia mutated (ATM) or IRAK1 kinases. ATM stimulates NF-κB in cells with DNA double-strand breaks. By contrast, IRAK1-induced NF-κB signaling occurs in neighboring cells through IL-1α secretion from transcriptionally stressed cells caused by DNA lesions blocking RNA polymerases. Subsequently, both pathways stimulate TRAF6 and the IKK complex to promote NF-κB-mediated inflammatory gene expression. These findings provide an alternative mechanism for damaged cells with impaired transcription to initiate an inflammatory response without relying on their own gene expression, a necessary step that injured cells depend on during canonical innate immune responses., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

Chromosomal instability (CIN) refers to an increased propensity of cells to acquire structural and numerical chromosomal abnormalities during cell division, which contributes to tumour genetic heterogeneity. CIN has long been recognized as a hallmark of cancer, and evidence over the past decade has strongly linked CIN to tumour evolution, metastasis, immune evasion and treatment resistance. Until recently, the mechanisms by which CIN propels cancer progression have remained elusive. Beyond the generation of genomic copy number heterogeneity, recent work has unveiled additional tumour-promoting consequences of abnormal chromosome segregation. These mechanisms include complex chromosomal rearrangements, epigenetic reprogramming and the induction of cancer cell-intrinsic inflammation, emphasizing the multifaceted role of CIN in cancer., Competing Interests: Competing interests: S.F.B. holds a patent related to some of the work described targeting chromosomal instability (CIN) and the cGAS–STING pathway in advanced cancer; and owns equity in, receives compensation from, serves as a consultant for and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and Board of Directors (BOD) of Volastra Therapeutics Inc., and serves on the SAB of Meliora Therapeutics. The other authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. Springer Nature Limited.)

During chromosome segregation, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) detects errors in kinetochore-microtubule attachments. Timely activation and maintenance of the SAC until defects are corrected is essential for genome stability. Here, we show that shugoshin (Sgo1), a conserved tension-sensing protein, ensures the maintenance of SAC signals in response to unattached kinetochores during mitosis in a basidiomycete budding yeast Cryptococcus neoformans. Sgo1 maintains optimum levels of Aurora B kinase Ipl1 and protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) at kinetochores. The absence of Sgo1 results in the loss of Aurora BIpl1 with a concomitant increase in PP1 levels at kinetochores. This leads to a premature reduction in the kinetochore-bound Bub1 levels and early termination of the SAC signals. Intriguingly, the kinase function of Bub1 is dispensable for shugoshin's subcellular localization. Sgo1 is predominantly localized to spindle pole bodies (SPBs) and along the mitotic spindle with a minor pool at kinetochores. In the absence of proper kinetochore-microtubule attachments, Sgo1 reinforces the Aurora B kinaseIpl1-PP1 phosphatase balance, which is critical for prolonged maintenance of the SAC response. Author summary: Precise segregation of the genome to daughter cells is the key to cell growth, survival, and proliferation. A proper attachment of spindle microtubules to the kinetochore of each eukaryotic chromosome is required for the faithful segregation of the genome. Error correction machinery such as the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) prevents chromosome mis-segregation by monitoring and correcting improper attachments by delaying the cell cycle progression. In this study, we probed the role of an evolutionarily conserved protein, shugoshin, in the basidiomycete budding yeast Cryptococcus neoformans in monitoring the kinetochore-MT attachments during mitosis. We show atypical localization of shugoshin to spindle pole bodies (SPBs) and along spindle MTs in this organism. Shugoshin, in C. neoformans, plays a role in maintaining the SAC response to prolong the mitotic arrest in MT depolymerizing conditions. Most strikingly, unlike other systems, the kinase activity of Bub1 is dispensable for the shugoshin's localization and function during mitosis in C. neoformans. Overall, this work reveals the mitotic role of shugoshin in monitoring kinetochore-MT attachments in one of the most critically important human fungal pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerable livelihood groups, such as the Fulanis in Guinea-Bissau, are affected by the consequences of inequality, as they lack access to healthy food, a healthy environment and adequate primary health care. Coordination between sectors can be key to building resilient food and health systems by integrating and scaling up preventive and emergency nutrition services, especially in the context of malnutrition. In 2021, a cashew-based food product was launched in Portugal in partnership with an NGO and a Portuguese food retailer. This study aims to explore the development and marketing of the product with humanitarian objectives, assessing its impact on the different stakeholders of the project. A mixed methodology was applied, combining the evaluation of consumer behavior, assessed through self-reported electronic questionnaires and in-depth interviews with the actors involved in the project. According to the retailer group stakeholders, a great opportunity for the future lies in developing new products with a humanitarian character. The results show that consumers are indeed interested in buying a product associated with a humanitarian cause, and that the product "100% Cashew Nut Butter" has a favorable consumer acceptance in terms of sensory attributes. The long-term nature of the project and the financial return were cited as strengths by all NGO stakeholders involved, but all stakeholders agreed that innovation was needed to sustain donations. Thus, this may be a cyclical process: businesses can create demand through product development, while management and consumers, in turn, drive demand. These findings can be used to improve the design of future projects that might use this as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This discourse-pragmatic study examines why a past or on-going action become the focus of customer complaints in e-commerce service encounters. Analyzing interactions between customers and service agents on Taobao, the study reveals how customer complaints are triggered by perceived moral transgressions attributed to service agents. The findings identify two types of transgressions: distributive and interactional. The study highlights metapragmatic expressions that reveal customers' beliefs about appropriate standards in the complaint resolution process. Customers perceive service agents as violating distributive justice by infringing on their benefactive, epistemic, and deontic rights, and as breaching interactional justice through lapses in responsibility and honesty. Overall, the study illustrates how customers' metapragmatic perceptions of moral transgressions shape complaint interactions in e-commerce settings, providing crucial insights for both theoretical analysis and practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines how similarities in educational and ethnic backgrounds (status homophily), between word of mouth (WOM) participants, influences the effectiveness of received offline WOM on the recipient's behavioural intentions. The educational similarity between individuals is conceptualized as acquired homophily, whereas ethnic similarity is defined as ascribed homophily. This study employs scenario-based experiments, and the results suggest that positive and negative WOM received from homophilous sources is more effective in influencing the recipient's purchase and WOM re-transmission intentions than recommendations received from heterophilous sources. This research expands the literature about offline WOM and the multidimensional status-homophily construct by providing insights on the differential influence of positive and negative recommendations received from WOM sources similar or dissimilar to the WOM recipients in terms of their educational and ethnic backgrounds. This is important from both the theoretical and practitioner perspective as the recent focus of scholarly research is on understanding the relationship between online homophily and e-WOM at the expense of offline WOM-homophily relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green demarketing is defined as a marketing technique that promotes a brand as environmentally friendly and health conscious by moderately lowering product consumption. Even though the influence of demarketing techniques have previously been explored, how personal characteristics influence customers' green behavioral intentions under the effects of green demarketing remains unknown. This study explored whether the effectiveness of a demarketing technique varies based on customers' skepticism (high vs. low), gender (male vs. female), age (young vs. old), and income level (high vs. low). Therefore, four 2 × 2 between subject designs were used, and the median split method was adopted to determine participants' level of green skepticism and age. The results confirmed significant relationships for green skepticism, age, and income level in response to message type. The study also identified implications for effective marketing communications regarding green marketing and demarketing strategies in the foodservice industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue: Many hospitals in the United States are facing significant postpandemic operational challenges largely as a result of increasing demand for health care services. Operational issues increase the risk of service failures. Improving the patient experience after service failures may lead to better outcomes for both patients and hospitals., Critical Theoretical Analysis: Drawing support from service failure recovery and quality management paradigms, we suggest that hospitals could periodically obtain deidentified patient feedback data drawn from multiple sources-including social media-to build a comprehensive patient experience dashboard that can be used to improve health care quality., Insight/advance: We offer an overarching conceptual framework to support organizational learning and make hospitals more adaptive to patient feedback. Staff members and leaders could examine patient feedback data to identify service failures and take appropriate action to prevent their recurrence in hospitals. A patient experience dashboard can be developed to document and visualize remedial actions taken by hospitals against each past service failure and shared with all stakeholders., Practice Implications: Reorienting health care as a service where hospitals immediately listen to patients and promptly address their questions and concerns may help to strengthen the continuity of health care services offered by hospitals as well as improve their financial position, quality of care, and the overall patient experience., (Copyright © 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cancer treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy have several limitations, including ineffectiveness against large or persistent tumors, high relapse rates, drug toxicity, and non-specificity of therapy. Researchers are exploring advanced strategies for treating this life-threatening disease to address these challenges. One promising approach is targeted drug delivery using prodrugs or surface modification with receptor-specific moieties for active or passive targeting. While various drug delivery systems have shown potential for reaching hepatic cells, nano-carriers offer significant size, distribution, and targetability advantages. Engineered nanocarriers can be customized to achieve effective and safe targeting of tumors by manipulating physical characteristics such as particle size or attaching receptor-specific ligands. This method is particularly advantageous in treating liver cancer by targeting specific hepatocyte receptors and enzymatic pathways for both passive and active therapeutic strategies. It highlights the epidemiology of liver cancer and provides an in-depth analysis of the various targeting approaches, including prodrugs, liposomes, magneto-liposomes, micelles, glycol-dendrimers, magnetic nanoparticles, chylomicron-based emulsion, and quantum dots surface modification with receptor-specific moieties. The insights from this review can be immensely significant for preclinical and clinical researchers working towards developing effective treatments for liver cancer. By utilizing these novel strategies, we can overcome the limitations of conventional therapies and offer better outcomes for liver cancer patients., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose., (© 2025. Controlled Release Society.)

Background: Evidence suggests L-arginine may be effective at reducing pre-eclampsia and related outcomes. However, whether L-arginine can prevent or only treat pre-eclampsia, and thus the target population and timing of initiation, remains unknown., Objectives: To evaluate the effects of L-arginine and L-citrulline (precursor of L-arginine) on the prevention and treatment of pre-eclampsia., Search Strategy: MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus and the Cochrane Library were searched through 7 February 2024., Selection Criteria: Trials administering L-arginine or L-citrulline to pregnant women, with the comparison group receiving placebo or standard care, were included., Data Collection and Analysis: Meta-analyses were conducted separately for prevention or treatment trials, using random-effects models., Main Results: Twenty randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (2028 women) and three non-randomised trials (189 women) were included. The risk of bias was 'high' in eight RCTs and showed 'some concerns' in 12. In prevention trials, L-arginine was associated with a reduced risk of pre-eclampsia (relative risk [RR] 0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35, 0.78; low-certainty evidence, four trials) and severe pre-eclampsia (RR 0.23; 95% CI, 0.09, 0.55; low-certainty evidence, three trials). In treatment trials, L-arginine may reduce mean systolic blood pressure (MD -5.64 mmHg; 95% CI, -10.66, -0.62; very low-certainty evidence, three trials) and fetal growth restriction (RR 0.46; 95% CI, 0.26, 0.81; low-certainty evidence, two trials). Only one study (36 women) examined L-citrulline and reported no effect on pre-eclampsia or blood pressure., Conclusions: L-arginine may be promising for pre-eclampsia prevention and treatment, but findings should be interpreted cautiously. More trials are needed to determine the optimal dose and time to commence supplementation and support clinical decision-making., (© 2025 The Author(s). BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signalling pathway, which recognizes both pathogen DNA and host-derived DNA, has emerged as a crucial component of the innate immune system, having important roles in antimicrobial defence, inflammatory disease, ageing, autoimmunity and cancer. Recent work suggests that the regulation of cGAS-STING signalling is complex and sophisticated. In this Review, we describe recent insights from structural studies that have helped to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the cGAS-STING signalling cascade and we discuss how the cGAS-STING pathway is regulated by both activating and inhibitory factors. Furthermore, we summarize the newly emerging understanding of crosstalk between cGAS-STING signalling and other signalling pathways and provide examples to highlight the wide variety of cellular processes in which cGAS-STING signalling is involved, including autophagy, metabolism, ageing, inflammation and tumorigenesis., Competing Interests: Competing interests: C.Z. has filed a patent application entitled “Function and application of SMPDL3A as a cGAMP-degrading enzyme”. Z.Z. declares no competing interests., (© 2025. Springer Nature Limited.)

Key Message: Viral vector-mediated gene editing is enhanced for cultivated tomato under low temperature conditions, enabling higher mutation rates, heritable, and virus-free gene editing for efficient breeding. The CRISPR/Cas system, a versatile gene-editing tool, has revolutionized plant breeding by enabling precise genetic modifications. The development of robust and efficient genome-editing tools for crops is crucial for their application in plant breeding. In this study, we highly improved virus-induced genome-editing (VIGE) system for cultivated tomato. Vectors of tobacco rattle virus (TRV) and potato virus X (PVX) were used to deliver sgRNA targeting phytoene desaturase (SlPDS), along with mobile RNA sequences of tFT or tRNA Ileu , into Cas9-overexpressing cultivated tomato (S. lycopersicum cv. Moneymaker). Our results demonstrate that low temperature significantly enhanced viral vector-mediated gene editing efficiency in both cotyledons and systemic upper leaves. However, no mutant progeny was obtained from TRV- and PVX301-infected MM-Cas9 plants. To address this challenge, we employed tissue culture techniques and found that low-temperature incubations at the initiation stage of tissue culture lead to enhanced editing efficiency in both vectors, resulting in a higher mutation rate (> 70%) of SlPDS in regenerated plants. Heritable gene-edited and virus-free progenies were successfully identified. This study presents a straightforward approach to enhance VIGE efficiency and the expeditious production of gene-edited lines in tomato breeding., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing financial interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has been demonstrated as an effective treatment for graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). The inline system was developed by Therakos in 1987. Recently, Fresenius Kabi implemented an integration of cell separator Amicus and a UVA photoactivation device (Phelix), realizing an inline photopheresis system., Study Design and Methods: In 2022 we designed a prospective paired crossover trial (NCT05718674) comparing two integrated ECP protocols: Therakos CELLEX and Amicus ECP system. Twenty patients affected by corticosteroid resistant GvHD were submitted to 80 ECP, 40 paired procedures., Results: All procedures were well tolerated, with no significant differences in procedure duration. CELLEX cell product showed higher granulocytes and platelet content, while Amicus cell product exhibited higher enrichment of lymphocytes, resulting in significantly higher MNC purity (92.9% vs. 84%). A significantly higher granulocytes and platelets absolute content was observed in CELLEX cell products, while Amicus cell products showed a significantly higher number of TNCs and MNCs. Differences in granulocyte and platelet content remained significant even after normalization of the data according to blood volume processed. These findings are confirmed by a statistically significant higher CE2% for CELLEX for granulocytes and platelets along with the lack of significant difference observed for TNCs and MNCs., Discussion: Our analysis shows differences in the characteristics of the procedure and the cell product. Anyway, both devices are effective for performing ECP procedure, as they collect a cell product suitable for photopheresis. At present, our results represent the first data set comparing two available inline ECP devices., (© 2024 AABB.)

Brain vasculature formation begins with vessel invasion from the perineural vascular plexus, which expands through vessel sprouting and growth. Recent studies have indicated the existence of oligodendrocyte-vascular crosstalk during development. However, the relationship between oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) and the ordered spatiotemporal vascularization of the neocortex has not been elucidated. Our findings suggest that OPCs play a complex role in the vessel density of the embryonic and postnatal neocortex. Analyses of normal human and mouse embryonic cerebral cortex show that vascularization and OPC distribution are tightly controlled in a spatially and temporally restricted manner, exhibiting a positive correlation. Loss of OPCs at both embryonic and postnatal stages led to a reduction in vascular density, suggesting that OPC populations play a role in vascular density. Nonetheless, dynamic observation on cultured brain slices and staining of tissue sections indicate that OPC migration is unassociated with the proximity to blood vessels, primarily occurring along radial glial cell processes. Additionally, in vitro experiments demonstrate that OPC secretions promote vascular endothelial cell (VEC) growth. Together, these observations suggest that vessel density is influenced by OPC secretions., (© 2024 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)